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Which Rookie This Season Will Have The Best Career?

It is clear at this point in the season that Damian Lillard has the ROY award wrapped up so long as he maintains his current level of play and no other rookie suddenly jumps into another stratosphere of play that we have not yet seen from them, but that said, there are some guys who certainly have the potential to be great players once they develop. So just as Okafor won the ROY over Howard, and Howard went onto develop into the better NBA player, it is possible that we might see the likes of Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond develop into better players than Lillard.

So of the rookies in this year's class, which do you think is going to develop into the best player?

Anthony Davis. This guy is gonna be a moster if he can stay fit. He's having trouble with fitness right now and you can trace it back to his Olympics participation. But if he's fit this guy is gonna be Howard with a basketball IQ and a jumpshot.

New Orleans are sitting on Davis, Gordon and Anderson all locked down for atleast four years. If all three stay fit, Hornets are gonna be dangerous come 2015.

You don't have him listed up there, and with the way Lillard has been playing it's hard to say that he'll be a better player but Terrence Ross (Raptors) has shown signs of turning into a well rounded player. From the highlights it's obvious the guy is crazy athletic, but beyond his impressive dunks he's also a good defender and has a pretty decent outside shot. He needs to put in some work still it's true, but he's got good potential.

Sullinger is an interesting inclusion in this poll; feels a little out of place.

That's a fair assessment. I really like the kid. He's averaging a double-double per36 minutes right now. I've also heard a lot of other people talking highly of him, and he had a rough start to the season, so the fact that his averages are where they are indicates that he's made vast improvements. When I check the box scores I see that he is leading Boston in rebounding a lot of nights despite not getting as many minutes as some other guys. I think he's got the potential to be really good.

That said, I voted for Drummond, and that may be in part due to the fact I'm a Pistons fan, but Anthony Davis is a legit option. The fact that he is shooting as high a percentage as he is right now, and the fact that he is leading rookies in blocks AND steals, while also committing less than 3 fouls a game is VERY impressive. Normally shot blocks and guys who get steals, also get more fouls, but he's getting it done defensively without committing fouls. He's ninth among rookie in fouls per game, but considering that he's getting more minutes than every rookie ahead of him says a lot (though Waiters and Lillard get slightly less fouls with more minutes).

But all that said, Drummond simply isn't getting the minutes to put up averages like Davis, but if you look at his per36 minutes stats he's actually averaging more rebounds, steals and blocks and shooting at a high percentage (neither gets many assists right now). Drummond's major drawback is his dismal FT%, which Davis has him beat by a long shot.

Lillard I think is great, but his FG% is a little low. I understand he is a rookie and that is to be expected, but he's going to have to bring that FG% up as his career progresses.

I'm going with Drummond. Davis' health concerns me as far as making predictions (since I am not up on the details). Drummond definitely could be a giant amongst men in a league starving for good centers.